4 RECOMMENDATION FOR ASSISTANCE TO GREECE AND TURKEY

The peoples of a number of countries of the world have recently had totalitarian regimes forced upon them against their will. The Government of the United States has made frequent protests against coercion and intimidation, in violation of the Yalta agreement, in Poland, Rumania, and Bulgaria. I must also state that in a number of other countries there have been similar developments.

At the present moment in world history nearly every nation must choose between alternative ways of life. The choice is too often not a free one.

One way of life is based upon the will of the majority, and is distinguished by free institutions, representative government, free elections, guaranties of individual liberty, freedom of speech and religion, and freedom from political oppression.

The second way of life is based upon the will of a minority forcibly imposed upon the majority. It relies upon terror and oppression, a controlled press and radio, fixed elections, and the suppression of personal freedoms.

I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.

I believe that we must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own way.

I believe that our help should be primarily through economic and financial aid which is essential to economic stability and orderly political processes. Mr. Truman's speech to Congress on March 12th has been hailed by the Belgian press (and in particular the Flemish section of it) as a major event. The approval of the Catholic Conservative newspapers was almost unanimous although it was tempered by sadness at what was described by La Cote Libre as "the substitution of American power for British prestige", and by the fear that a war between the United States of America and the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics had been brought one step nearer. De

Papers of all shades of opinion echoed the view that American economic imperialism was on the march to fill the vacuum caused by British economic and strategic withdrawals. Le Soir (Independent) reproduced the comment of its London correspondent that Englishmen were not sorry to see the Americans take their place although their desire for friendship with Russia remained strong. La Libre Belgique (Catholic) remarked that American imperialism was no worse - indeed it was rather less objectionable - than the Russian brand in Eastern Europe. The Socialist press was divided on the subject and showed signs of discomfort. Le Peuple, while admitting that an optimistic view might be justified, did not disguise its fear that "Mr. Truman's brutal outspokenness might hasten the division of the world into two blocs". The Flemish Socialist daily Vooruit was outspoken in its condemnation of the American action which, it maintained, had not been dictated by true democratic motives but by dollar diplomacy. The paper listed American support for the wrong causes at home and abroad, regretted the passing of Britain as a stabilising factor and exclaimed that the "iron curtain was being replaced by a gold one".

The Communist press stigmatised the speech as a "brutal move of American imperialism". Greece and Turkey, suggested De Roode Vaan, would be turned into American military bases. Le Drapeau Rouge, invoking the United Nations Organisation, professed to believe that there would be enough men of good sense in the United States of America to see through the American manoeuvre. March 4, 1947

SUMMARY OF TELEGRAMS

HUNGARY We are proposing joint US, UK and Soviet examination of the Hungarian political situation since we feel the intervention of Soviet occupation authorities in the conspiracy case has precluded the possibility of a local settlement and threatens to render impossible the functioning of democratic processes in Hungary. Schoenfeld is to make clear our opposition to the Soviet action.

GREECE The Greek Charge has presented the Department with a formal request for the "financial and other assistance" necessary to enable the Greek Government to purchase supplies of food and clothing and to enable the military and civil establishments to restore order within the country.

GERMANY Ambassador Murphy is informed that we disapprove in principle of the recruitment of Germans into the armed forces of the United Nations or of any other powers. We hope that a settlement of this problem may be reached at the Moscow Conference.

RELIEF We estimate the following emergency relief needs abroad following the end of the UNRRA program: Austria, $148 million; Greece, $56 million; Hungary, $40 million; Italy, $158 million; Poland, $128 million; and Trieste (on a tentative basis), $20 million. It is also felt that China may need $60 million in relief later in the year. It is believed that further relief would be unnecessary with the possible exception of Austria. A speech by US Secretary of state George Marshall at Harvard University in June 1947 setting out the 'Marshall Plan'.

COLD WAR - The Truman Doctrine and Marshall Aid

Source 4 A speech by US Secretary of state George Marshall at Harvard University in June 1947 setting out the 'Marshall Plan'.

Recovery has been seriously retarded by the fact that two years after the close of hostilities a peace settlement with Germany and Austria has not been agreed upon. But even given a more prompt solution of these difficult problems, the rehabilitation of the economic structure of Europe evidently will require a much longer time and greater effort than had been foreseen.

There is a phase of this matter which is both interesting and serious. The farmer has always produced the foodstuffs to exchange with the city dweller for the other necessities of life. This division of labour is the basis of modern civilization. At the present time it is threatened with breakdown. The town and city industries are not producing adequate goods to exchange with the food-producing farmer. Raw materials and fuel are in short supply. Machinery is lacking or worn out. The farmer or the peasant cannot find the goods for sale which he desires to purchase. So the sale of his farm produce for money which he cannot use seems to him an unprofitable transaction. He, therefore, has withdrawn many fields from crop cultivation and is using them for grazing. He feeds more grain to stock and finds for himself and his family an ample supply of food, however short he may be on clothing and the other ordinary gadgets of civilization. Meanwhile, people in the cities are short of food and fuel. So the governments are forced to use their foreign money and credits to procure these necessities abroad. This process exhausts funds which are urgently needed for reconstruction. Thus a very serious situation is rapidly developing which bodes no good for the world. The modern system of the division of labour upon which the exchange of products is based is in danger of breaking down.

The truth of the matter is that Europe's requirements for the next three or four years of foreign food and other essential products - principally from America - are so much greater than her present ability to pay that she must have substantial additional help, or face economic, social and political deterioration of a very grave character.

The remedy lies in breaking the vicious circle and restoring the confidence of the European people in the economic future of their own countries and of Europe as a whole. The manufacturer and the farmer throughout wide areas must be able and willing to exchange their products for currencies, the continuing value of which is not open to question.

Aside from the demoralising effect on the world at large and the possibilities of disturbances arising as a result of the desperation of the people concerned, the consequences to the economy of the United States should be apparent to all. It is logical that the United States should do whatever it is able to do to assist in the return of normal economic health in the world, without which there can be no political stability and no assured peace. Our policy is directed not against any country or doctrine but against hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos. Its purpose should be the revival of a working economy in the world as to permit the emergence of political and social conditions in which free institutions can exist. Such assistance, I am convinced, must not be on a piecemeal basis as various crises develop. Any assistance that this Government may render in the future should provide a cure rather than a mere palliative.

(over) A speech by US Secretary of state George Marshall at Harvard University in June 1947 setting out the 'Marshall Plan'.

Any government that is willing to assist in the task of recovery will find full cooperation, I am sure, on the part of the United States Government. Any government which renounces to block the recovery of other countries cannot expect help from us. Furthermore, governments, political parties or groups which seek to perpetuate human misery in order to profit therefrom politically or otherwise will encounter the opposition of the United States.

It is already evident that, before the United States Government can proceed much further in its efforts to alleviate the situation and help start the European world on its way to recovery, there must be some agreement among the countries of Europe as to the requirements of the situation and the part those countries themselves will take in order to give proper effect to whatever action might be undertaken by this Government. It would be neither fitting nor efficacious for this Government to undertake to draw up unilaterally a program designed to place Europe on its feet economically. This is the business of the Europeans. The initiative, I think, must come from Europe. The role of this country should consist of friendly aid in the drafting of a European program and of later support of such a program as far as it may be practical for us to do so. The program should be a joint one, agreed to by a majority, if not all European nations.

In essential part of any successful action on the part of the United States is an understanding on the part of the people of America of the character of the problem and the remedies to be applied. Political passion and prejudice should have no part. With foresight, and a willingness on the part of our people to face up to the vast responsibilities which history has clearly placed upon our country, the difficulties I have outlined can, and will be overcome.

(End of advance for release upon any responsible cable or Radio notification, expected between 1730 and 2000 GMT, Thursday, June 5.)

HEARING OPEN ON IMMIGRATION

WASHINGTON — Enactment of temporary legislation to allow 100,000 displaced persons to enter the United States annually over a four-year period was urged on June 4 by Representative William G. Stratton, author of the measure, before a House Subcommittee on Immigration.

The Republican Representative from Illinois was the first of a number of witnesses, including high Government officials, expected to testify in support of the measure which would provide for admission of refugees now in Germany, Austria and Italy. The two major U.S. labour unions, the American Federation of Labour and the Congress of Industrial Organizations, have expressed their support for the bill and Assistant Secretary of State for Occupied Areas John H. Hilldring is expected to testify in behalf of the bill soon.

Mr. Stratton maintained that existing legislative and administrative machinery is inadequate to allow the United States to take its full share of the displaced persons. He recalled U.S. opposition in the United Nations against forced repatriation of displaced persons to Communist-dominated countries and said that the United States now has a moral obligation to "follow through." A British cartoon commenting on the Marshall Plan, January 1st 1948 It is clear that the restoration and further development of the national economy of European countries would be facilitated if the United States of America, whose productive capacities have not only not diminished during the war but have considerably increased, could give that economic help which these countries require. At the same time it is known that the U.S.A. herself is also interested in utilising her credit possibilities for the expansion of her external markets, particularly in connexion with the coming crisis. Hitherto it has been regarded as axiomatic that every nation should itself decide the question of how best to secure the restoration and improvement of its economy. No European government intends to interfere in deciding whether the Monnet Plan is good for France or not. This is the affair of the French people itself. But this also applies to Great Britain, to the Soviet Union, to Poland and to Czechoslovakia, and to every other European country. Such is the viewpoint of the Soviet Union which has more than once resisted the attempt at foreign interference in its affairs. It has been regarded as completely obvious that internal economic affairs are the sovereign affair of nations themselves and that other countries should not interfere in these internal affairs. Only on this basis is the normal development of relations between countries possible. Attempts at interference from without in the economic life of individual countries have never led and will never lead to positive results. If this is true then the attempt to make the Conference occupy itself with working out an all-embracing economic programme for European countries - which will inevitably lead to interference by certain countries in the affairs of other countries - cannot be accepted as a basis for cooperation for the countries of Europe. Such attempts are now being made by certain powers, but they are doomed to failure and will only undermine the international authority of those powers.

An article in the Soviet newspaper Pravda commenting on the Marshall Plan, June 29th 1947.